Smile
by ChocolateBall1
Summary: AU. Plagued with concerns over your brother, you suddenly receive a rather pleasant gift... England/Reader. Meant to be a follow-up to Has the Rain Stopped?.


**A few notes before we begin.** Full author's note at the end.

**This is meant to be a follow-up to _Has the Rain Stopped?_. However, it can be read by itself.**

**Alternate universe, in which you are a country under England's care. **If you want to understand it better, you might want to read my previous one-shots, _And Tears Fell Down From the Sky_ and _Has the Rain Stopped?_

****Read & Review, enjoy!~

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><p><strong>Smile<strong>

You stared out the open window longingly. The weather outside was perfect, you noticed; sunny and breezy, but not too hot and not too windy. Grass danced with the wind and birds chirped merrily through the sky. Clouds rolled lazily across the beautiful blue sky and on the ground, very few people walked through the quiet neighbourhood. Yes, it was quite nice outside, but it was not the reason you were looking out the window.

You had to admit, London was a delightful place to live in. It was lovely here, with the fascinating culture and city to explore. There were attractive people to meet all around, ones that enraptured you, who each had a story to tell you. Every nook and cranny of the house you now lived in captured your attention, from the teacups to the private rooms of England's you weren't allowed in. The books England had were interesting as well; captivating stories of pirate adventures and charming fairy tales were all around you that kept you reading for hours. Yet the volume you were reading laid closed on the table beside you as you gazed out the window.

Despite all these qualities that England's house possessed, you were homesick.

Desperately you wanted to see your big brother again. China's heart-warming smile and his inviting hugs, the way he was slightly over-protective and the dumplings he made, all of this made your heart wrench for him (especially for his food; England couldn't cook very well and as for you…well, you never tried). The last time you saw GeGe, you were practically torn apart from him. The two of you haven't communicated since. After months of pestering England you started writing letters back home, but China never replied, making you panic even more. Was he still ill? What if his condition got worse as time went by?

A gust of wind blew in, ruffling your hair a little. You leaned forward slightly to the breeze, but it went as suddenly as it came. Sighing, you leaned back into the chair and drifted away to your thoughts again. Your worries never stopped pestering you and it was starting take control. After a couple of minutes you forced yourself off the chair and went downstairs to the telly. Maybe some mind-numbing programs would calm yourself down and distract yourself from your concerns.

Even with the screen blaring at you though, you found your thoughts sliding back to China. An image of a gaunt, pale face and tired eyes hovered into view. Groaning, you grabbed a pillow and hugged it tightly, screwing your eyes up and tried to drive the image away. Much like an annoying gnat, it stayed put.

You opened your eyes, defeated. Well, maybe if distracting yourself wouldn't work, you could write a letter. It was much better than just sitting around and worrying, and certainly more productive. But what would you write? Everything you wanted to say was already written in previous letters to him. There wasn't anything new to talk about. And even if you did end up sending another letter, what were the chances of him actually reading it? He never replied before, so why would he now?

As the thought of asking England to visit China ruminated in your head, a hand suddenly rested upon your shoulder, making you jump. You turned around to meet concerned eyes. In the midst of all your fretting, England had come home from grocery shopping.

"Ah!" you said, eyes wide with surprise. "I'm sorry, but I didn't notice you were home! Did you need help with the groceries?" you continued, glancing over to his arms. Instead of finding them full of brown bags though, both arms were hidden behind the British gentleman's back. Your eyes wandered back up to his, curious, and asked, "What are you hiding behind your back?"

He blushed at the question, but instead of answering it, England silently slid his arms out from behind his back and presented to you a bouquet of beautiful red roses. His emerald eyes averted from yours as he handed them to you. You turned red at the sudden gift, but accepted them anyway. A quick whiff of the flowers sent your mind flying to the image of a quiet but romantic town. The aroma was a sweet one, but not at all overwhelming. The scent was laced with soft but lovely hints of sweet pea and you had to admit, it was a pleasant smell to your senses.

Still clutching the bouquet, you turned to England and questioned, "Why?"

The blonde coughed and mumbled. You cocked your head to the side and asked him to speak louder.

England coughed again and said clearly this time, "You seemed upset lately."

"Oh. I didn't think you notice…I'm sorry if you were worried."

"It's quite alright," England shook his head, his face still scarlet. "I just wanted you to cheer up. And you said your favourite type of flower is a rose, so I thought it might delight you. I'm sorry, was it too much?" he asked, panicked. "I just wanted to see you smile again!"

Giggling, you replied, "No, I love it! Thank you so much!"

Roses still in your hand, you wrapped your arms around the British nation and pulled him close to you. As he hesitantly leaned back into your sudden embrace, all your concerns about China dissipated as you were surrounded by warm, cozy comfort. And just as England had wished, a small smile was graced upon your lips.

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><p><strong>AN: **Smile. Flower. Precious. Love. These are the words that helped me write this story.

How much time has passed between _Has the Rain Stopped?_ and this story, you might ask. I don't know, but your thoughts have changed for him a lot, if you notice carefully…perhaps a month or so? I'd like to say within a month…

Trying my best to write in American-English, OTL. Most people who read fanfiction appear to be in the United States.

And I kind of just…died at the end.

Considering I have not stopped writing this England/Reader series, I want to know: **Should I just write these as a series of one-shots and put them all into one story document**? Each one-shot would be a different chapter, and I'll just update sporadically. And if I choose to do so, should I

a) keep the previous stories I made as they are, but still include them into the story

b) delete the previous stories and include them in the story

c) just don't do the idea at all.

_Translations: GeGe – big brother (Chinese Mandarin)_

**If you need furthur understanding of what's going on, you might want to read _And Tears Fell Down From the Sky_ and _Has the Rain Stopped?_** (Yay, shameless advertising!) And random note here: I personallyhated _Has the Rain Stopped?_ I don't know why. I just did.

**Feedback would be appreciated through reviews! **I really like reviews, lol. Although, I guess everybody does as well. :P

...Hn. I like long author's notes, it seems.


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